The End
by A Solar Eclipse
Summary: Their relationship had started off amazingly, but one knew it wasn’t the right time yet. Now the other tries to cope with his problems to get back with his one and only, only having fun with other "One and Only"'s along the way. *Homosexual Relations*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_American Dragon: Jake Long_ belongs to Disney Animation Studios and Buena Vista Television.

**Warnings:** This story will contain the ending of a homosexual relationship. No described sex.

* * *

**The End**

Their relationship had started off amazingly, but one knew it wasn't the right time yet.

"Are you saying the relationship wasn't good enough for you?" Jake asked, his face starting to become red from the last few minutes of the conversation.

"No, it's not that," Spud replied, his face not red, but he was starting to get tense. He had wanted to break up with Jake weeks ago; but he hadn't worked up the courage to say anything until tonight.

"Well, then, what is it?" Jake asked, fumed and looking for answers. The October night air was extra chilly-even for New York. "Was the sex bad? I thought you enjoyed it?"

The air bit at Spud even more as he thought up the best lie he could on short notice. "No, no, it was good," he stated, his lie slowly morphing into a truthful statement, "it's just that…" he trailed off.

Jake noticed Spud shiver a little. Always the gentleman, he removed his sweatshirt and threw it on Spud. Jake's undershirt rode up as he took the sweatshirt off. This caught Spud's attention, and brought happy memories of the previous night. The memory was strengthened as he felt Jake's arms go around his waist. "It's just what darling?" Jake asked coolly.

Spud always hated being called 'darling,' but never liked to admit it. To him, a pet name always felt like an advanced relationship-something that he and Jake didn't have yet. They had been dating for a few months, but it all seemed like it was progressing too quickly. But even this wasn't the real reason he wanted to break up with Jake-just another thing to add to his list.

"It's just; I think we're taking this too fast." Spud finally said. It had taken more courage than he realized. He gripped Jake's arms tightly, hoping for some form of acceptance. Unfortunately, his need wasn't met. Jake shook Spud off, moving away as if Spud were a contagious disease.

"Too quickly?" Jake asked, the hurt he felt slipping into his voice. "We've been dating for three months! Spud, this is what couples like us do!"

The words echoed through Spud's mind. '_Like us'_ What did he mean by that? "Like us? What does that even mean?" He asked, his anger taking over as opposed to his nervousness. "Do you mean couples in three month relationships? How many couples do you know that have sex after only three months?"

"Plenty," Jake argues back. "My parents were only married three months when I was conceived!"

"Yeah, but they were _MARRIED_." Spud retorted, his streaked blond-brown hair blowing in the still strong wind.

"Well, you don't see people like _us_ getting married anytime soon, do you?!" Jake bellowed. Silence fell between the two boys. It remained there for a few minutes like a bug that would not go away. "Spud…I'm sorry…" Jake finally said. Spud wouldn't hear it. He knew it was coming for a while. He knew Jake felt different about being gay. The time had finally come when Jake couldn't hold his opinion in any longer. It was the real reason he did want to be Jake's boyfriend anymore.

"I think you should just go." Spud said directly, refusing to look at Jake any further.

Jake turned on his heels and walked off without another word.

Spud walked forward into the October night, still shivering a little as he went.

* * *

_This is slightly updated. By "slightly" I mean I changed "lived" to "liked"._ Just trust me, it was necessary.


	2. Chapter 2: Not 'The End'

**Disclaimer: **_American Dragon: Jake Long _belongs to Disney Animation Studios and Buena Vista Television.

**Warnings**: This story will contain a homosexual relationship. No described sex.

* * *

**Chapter 2  
Not 'The End'  
**

It had been weeks since Jake spoke to Spud, even though it felt like months. Even while in school, the two did their best to ignore each other. It wasn't because the two boys hated each other; instead it was just the usual case of awkwardness that follows a breakup when the two see each other. Most of the teachers noticed the once best-friends now not talking, but not one knew why. Spud and Jake weren't very open about their homosexuality, except to one person.

Trixie was the only person in the whole world that knew both Jake and Spud were not only gay, but once together as a couple. And as it usually goes with the one in the middle, Trixie got the brunt of the breakup—from both sides. Spud was usually calm about the situation, pointing out why it had to be done, and how he indeed missed the special companionship at times. Jake on the other hand, well, he was a different story.

Jake was never someone who took change well. (His grandpa is still recovering from the small heart attack that occurred as a result of Jake finding out he was a dragon…) Small changes were bad enough to deal with, but a change in a relationship-especially when the relationship was with your best friend-is about a gazillion on a scale of 1 to 10—and Jake was sure to remind Trixie of that each and every day on the phone.

"Yes Jake, I know…" Trixie said over the phone for the fifth time that afternoon, "you really miss him. So why don't you just go up and talk to him?"

"You can't just go up to the guy that broke up with you and say hello! That's not how it works!" Jake lay sprawled across his bed up-side-down, his head hanging off the edge just inches from the floor. It was his usual stressed-out position.

"But you also can't not go up to your best friend and say hello!" Trixie retorted yet again after weeks of trying the same argument. It wasn't that she was out of ideas, she was just tired of dealing with her two friends fighting.

"If your best friend just broke up with you, what exactly would you do when said hello to you?" Jake asked, slightly annoyed.

"Well, I don't know, seeing as my two best friends are BOTH GAY! It would be tough to put myself in that situation!" The conversation went down a road it never had before. This excited Trixie because it meant she might finally be on the road to freedom from the bickering, while at the same time scaring her because she knew what Jake might do if the conversation went deeper and a solution wasn't realized. Unfortunately for Trixie, it grew silent on both ends of the conversation. Jake was taken back by her abrupt conclusion, and Trixie was already regretting what she had just blurted out.

Before Jake could hear Trixie apologise, he sat up so quickly he felt dizzy. Now it was his turn to be angry. "Is _that_ what it's about? You know, tsk, you are JUST like Spud! That's exactly what he had to say-he broke up with me because we're gay! Since you wanted to point that out to me again then that's great, now you'll understand what it's like to not get to talk to your best friend!" Jake threw down the phone, not really caring if it landed on the base or not. Alone in the house for a few more hours until his mom and sister got back from the mall, Jake had nobody to rant to, or say _anything_ to for that matter. He was alone with his thoughts, which he decided to take full advantage of.

'It's all because I have this stupid attraction to guys!' he thought to himself. 'Why did I have to turn out this way? What did I ever do to deserve _this_?' He thought louder, if that was possible. 'Guys aren't supposed to have this problem! We're supposed to be worried about looking good in front of the girls, not the guys!' He fell back to his previous position, head near the floor. There, he looked over at the mirror on his closet door. Staring at his up-side-down reflection for a while, Jake got up and headed for his desk.

He took his jacket off and threw it over his chair. On his desk was a picture of Spud and he, goofing off before the two started going out. "Those were the days," he began with a sigh, speaking to nobody, "before it all got complicated." Jake took the picture and headed back for his bed. Laying back with his head on his pillow, he thought back to the days leading up to when he came out to Spud.

Spud had come out to Jake and Trixie a few weeks before. Spud seemed to take it in stride, explaining that he had known for some time, but wasn't ready to tell other people yet. He felt comfortable telling his two best friends because he knew they wouldn't tell a soul, and that they wouldn't be judgmental whatsoever. And unknowingly to Spud, he had began a chain reaction in Jake that would lead to his eventual coming out.

Jake had only just begun to notice his attraction to guys. At first he didn't notice it. Then when he did notice himself looking at others, Jake began to make excuses. While at the city pool one day, Jake looked over at Freddie Plasma, the track captain who at the time was without a shirt. Jake looked all over his upper body, studying every detail of him—his skin tone, the size of his arms, and the small bits of hair near his waist. When Jake realized he was staring, he quickly rationalized his thoughts. 'I'm just comparing him…to me…yeah…that's all…I want to make sure I'm not falling behind on the whole growing up thing,' he thought back then.

Another time while changing for gym in the locker room, he was talking with Felix Sprout, a distant friend from back in elementary school whom Jake only spoke rarely with. Felix was tall for his age, but not quite towering over Jake as most of his 16-year-old classmates were. Jake had nearly completed changing and was just putting his shoes on when Felix took his pants off. Jake couldn't help but notice his legs-how they were thin, but not to the point of skin-and-bone. Felix's boxers slipped down just slightly as they clung to his slightly sweaty gym shorts. It was enough for Jake to catch a glimpse something-but nothing noteworthy. His excuse to himself was 'I just wanted to make sure his boxers didn't fall the way down-Felix would be embarrassed to death in the locker room. I could jump over and cover him up with my towel.' He felt uneasy about that excuse, and it was the last excuse he ever told himself.

His flashback done with and his mind back in the here and now, Jake sat up and looked over at the mirror again. He got off the bed and walked toward the mirror. Jake took his shirt off, studying himself. "Paler than Freddie," he said out loud, twisting back and forth slightly to see every angle, "but at least I've got some muscles now," he said while looking at his arms. Jake took his shorts off next, this time looking at his legs. They were the same as Felix's, only shorter. He took off his boxers.

Jake stepped back and looked at his entire body reflected in the mirror. From what he had read in science textbooks and remembered from gym classes, he looked about the same if not better than most of the guys at school. "There are girls who want me," he pleaded to his reflection. He was getting angry again. "So why the hell do I want SPUD?" He nearly yelled. He jumped face down on his bed and began to think again.

He thought back to the night before Spud broke up with him. They were in Spud's bed, both undressed after an exhausting half hour of passion. Jake held Spud in his arms and enjoyed the warmth coming from Spud's body. He remembered from memory every inch of Spud's body and thought about nothing but that. He thought of Spud for what felt like an eternity. A few minutes later, sanity came back to Jake as he got up and began to re-dress himself. He looked back at the mirror and thought, calmly, 'I don't know why I like guys, but I know I don't like it.'

* * *

So after more than one request to keep this going, I decided to cave. Hope it was worth the wait! Look for more chapters soon! :)

Hey, if you're a fan of my other stories, they just might be getting an update too…check back!

Happy Reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Thinking on the Subway

**Disclaimer: **_American Dragon: Jake Long _belongs to Disney Animation Studios and Buena Vista Television.

**Warnings**: This story will contain a homosexual relationship. No described sex.

* * *

**Chapter 3  
Thinking on the Subway  
**

'I don't recall it ever being this warm in New York in December,' Jake thought to himself as he headed towards the subway. Jake's parents and sister would only be home in about an hour, and Jake needed more time to himself. He left a note on the table, alerting his parents that he was alive and at Trixie's house for dinner—a lie that he'd told dozens of time before. It had come in handy for the many days after school that he and Spud spent together, not only as best friends, but as boyfriends. Spud's parents were barely around, so that house was a welcome and inviting retreat. Privacy was Jake's number once concern.

Perhaps that's why Jake preferred the subway more than busses. On a subway, you're basically invisible. You go into a station, anonymously pay your fare and wait on a platform, then sit down on a train that carries you. You never speak to someone else, and hardly anyone speaks to you with the exception of an "excuse me" or "I'm sorry." But that's what Jake needed right then after Trixie's comment, some anonymity in the middle of New York City.

It was only a short walk to the subway station near Jake's house. He walked down the stairs, paid his $2, and walked through the turnstile. '$2 is a small price to pay for a little bit of anonymity,' Jake thought as he waited for the next 1 train to South Ferry. The platform wasn't empty, but he was still pretty much alone. Most people go uptown back to their homes in the evening, so a downtown train shouldn't be crowded-especially a local. Mainly the people who get on a South Ferry-bound 1 train in the evening are people returning to their home on Staten Island. The train drops you off outside the ferry terminal—and that's exactly where Jake was going. He always liked to think out on the balcony of the new building. And sometimes, when he had extra time, he'd even hop aboard the ferry and ride it back and fourth, just to clear his head. It may have been warm for a New York December, but it was still December, so the cold wind on the water wouldn't be welcome today.

Jake's mind was still buzzing about, trying to find the reason why he was attracted to guys. Surely it wasn't his decision. "Heck, I've been checking out girls for years-what changed?" he said out loud to himself, low enough that nobody could hear, especially with the sound of an express charging through one of the tracks. Jake peeked over the edge of the platform, growing impatient for the next train to arrive. The 96th street station was growing a little more crowded, filling with more anonymous people who never spoke a word to anyone else. Nobody cared about what anyone else thought. Nobody knew the stories of the other people. Everyone was just a person, all with a common goal: get on a train.

The 1 train came into the station with its usual entrance: screeching brakes and a conductor's voice barely audible above the sound of feet sliding against the floor. Jake was the only person to get into the last car-a car that was empty except for a few business people looking at papers, and an elderly woman asleep with a grocery bag on her lap. The train doors closed with the warning bell sounding, and the train lurched forward, heading towards 86th Street to pick up more passengers. With his need to pay attention to his surroundings gone, Jake was once again able to consider his dilemma, and be totally alone with his thoughts.

The only problem was, he couldn't think. Well, he couldn't think about just one thing that is. He thought about Spud, about Trixie, about his classmates. He watched as the train made stops along the subway line, picking up passengers, dropping people off. Everyone around him continued their lives, unaware that the boy sharing a subway car with them was having relationship problems, and just a generally bad day.

The subway reached 50th Street, just one station before Times Square: the busiest subway station perhaps in the system. His train car was about to be crowded with more people running from place to place, trying to get home and forget about their problems at work. 'Why can't I just forget about my problems, and live a second life?' Jake thought to himself. He realised he was jealous of the rest of New York. They lived two lives, one at work and a second at home. If there was ever a problem with one life, they could just concentrate on their other life. It was as simple as that.

As the train doors opened in Times Square, he counted the number of people who got on. 32. What had started off as an empty car with a few people coming and going, and the sleeping grocery woman had grown into a small population. 'More people to be jealous of,' Jake thought as the train rolled into the 34th Street Station. Most of his car companions would get off here to go home to Long Island. Sure enough, the car emptied out, and it was back to just Jake and the sleeping grocery woman, and a few stragglers who were going to South Ferry. As the doors were about to close, however, one last man jumped on the train at the far end of the car. He was out of breath and obviously tired. Jake couldn't make much of his appearance, other than the fact that he had blond hair. 'Maybe he just wants to get lost too.' The doors closed and the train rolled forward again, getting closer and closer to South Ferry.

The next few stops were uneventful. People got on and off the car. Even the sleeping grocery woman woke up and got off the train at 18th Street. After that came 14th Street, and Jake's car was empty except for the blond man who got on at 34th Street. The doors closed and the conductor's voice came on over the public address system, with some bad news.

"May I have your attention please. Due to…" the voice was too faint to make out, but it came back a few seconds later. "…the next station will be this train's last stop. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for riding the New York City Subway."

"Just great," Jake said out loud, loud enough for the man at the other end of the car to hear.

"It's not that bad, kid," the man said. They were the first words anyone had said to Jake since he hung up on Trixie earlier that afternoon.

Jake's anonymity was gone. Someone had made contact with him, and when you're trapped in a subway car, it's best to be friendly rather than make an enemy. He decided to answer back. "Well, when you needed air to think about your problems, it's an issue," Jake admitted.

"You've got air down here," the man said.

"That's not what I meant," Jake started. "I needed to be someplace where nobody would know me, where nobody would care about my problems."

The man got up just as the train started to move. He stumbled a little as the train rolled, but kept his balance—mostly. Now Jake could see the man better. He wasn't very tall, and looked kind of young. He had freckles on his face and pale skin. "Well, let me offer you this," the man said as he sat across the car from Jake. "I know this area pretty well, I have no idea who you are, and frankly I could care less about your problems. Why don't you tell me just a little bit about them? There's a park pretty close to where this station lets out. Interested?"

Jake may have been 17, but the lessons of 'Don't talk to strangers' from his mom suddenly rang loudly in his head. At this point, though, Jake was desperate for a way to clear his mind, and it didn't seem like the ferry building was an option anymore. "Sure—why not," Jake said to the man as the train pulled into the station. The doors opened and the pair got out. There were surprisingly few people left on the train, especially considering everyone had to get off at this station. The only exit was in the middle of the platform, so the two walked with everyone else. "I don't normally pay attention to the stops past 34th Street. Where are we?" Jake asked.

The man replied, "Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village," as Jake stepped through the turnstile, and back into the world above ground.

* * *

Miss me? Well, that just goes to show that non-stop "Story Alerting+" does actually work. Glad to know there are people out there who want more.

So my plot line changed a little bit. This should be a fun ride! Keep pestering me so I feel guilt-ed into finishing this.


	4. Chapter 4: Jake's Secret

**Disclaimer: **_Kim Possible_ and _American Dragon: Jake Long_ both belong to Disney Animation Studios and Buena Vista Television.

**Warnings:** This story will contain homosexual relationships and adult themes. No described sex.

* * *

**Chapter 4  
Jake's Secret**

Christopher Street was in a completely different part of New York City than South Ferry. The South Ferry area around the Financial District is full of office buildings, historic landmarks like Trinity Church, the New York Stock Exchange, and at one point the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Greenwich Village on the other hand, looked as it sounded: a village. Tall skyscrapers were replaced with lo-rise buildings, cafes on every corner, and a park—with grass and trees.

"I've never been in this part of the City before," Jake admitted to the man.

"That's a shame," the blond man replied. "It's beautiful around here, especially at the end of June. Ah! Here we are," he announced upon crossing 7th Avenue and arriving at the entrance to Christopher Park. It wasn't a large park, nowhere near the size of Central Park. This was a small, irregular-shaped park with only a few benches. In the middle were white statues of men sitting on a bench and in the middle. They looked as if they were in mid conversation, and just stuck there, like they had been turned to stone by a Medusa. The short trees lined the perimeter of the park and a few birds sat in their tiny branches. The grass was near frozen and the trees looked dead. It hadn't snowed for days, but there was still some in existence in small piles near the entrance.

"Now, what did you say your name was?" the man asked of Jake. "I don't think I caught it."

"Well, that's mainly because I didn't throw it," Jake answered. The man chuckled.

"Well, yeah, good point. You've got me there. Well, why don't you tell me?" the man asked again. Jake chose not to.

"I thought you wanted to help me with my problems?" Jake asked, near the verge of annoyed.

"Aah, oooh---right," the man replied. "Well, what can I do ya for?"

"Ask about my problems perhaps?" Jake suggested.

"I believe I've already done that," the man answered.

Jake sat leaned back as far as he could along the bench, as if on a psychiatrist's couch. He inhaled and took a deep breath. Then he started his story, shivering a little in the air that had turned colder since he boarded the subway earlier that afternoon. "Well, it has to do with a relationship I was in," he started.

The man nodded. "Continue."

"We've been friends for so long-we know so much about each other. Then one day, it just got really complicated. I mean it felt right a little bit, but that's probably just because he—sorry, we—we were such good friends. Something changed, and well, I didn't really like that it changed," Jake admitted.

"Well, what changed?" the man asked.

"It's kind of embarrassing—not to mention private!" Jake retorted. He sat up on the bench a little bit.

"Come on, you've gotten this far with a total stranger. Chances are you're not getting to the Ferry Terminal today, and I know you need help. So come on, what changed?" The man was persistent.

Every bone in Jake's body was trembling. Most of it was from the cold, but he was also really nervous about telling this total stranger his deepest secret. Well, his deepest human secret anyway. But then again, there was a part of him that was excited about potentially opening up and trying something new. Siding with the logic that he would probably never see this person again, Jake decided to spill everything and tell the man what he'd been thinking since the day Spud broke up with him.

"Well," Jake began, "my friend's name is Spud—," Jake started, but was cut off.

"Like the potato?" the man asked, now intrigued even more.

"Yeah, weird name, right?" Jake asked hypothetically. "Anyway, Spud's a guy…he was my boyfriend." Jake stopped talking to judge the man's reaction. The man didn't move. He just sat there waiting for Jake to continue. Jake leaned back again.

"So, since Spud's a guy, and I'm a guy, that would make me…" he trailed off.

"Gay?" the man suggested. "Yeah, I know. Continue."

Jake was confused. 'Wait, has he known all along?' he thought to himself as he prepared for the next part of his story. "Right, so I'm gay. The thing that changed is, well, I didn't choose to be gay."

The man turned to face Jake. He motioned for him to sit up. "Are you saying that you've been worrying this whole time because you didn't choose to be gay?"

Jake nodded.

"And are you worried more because you don't want to be gay?"

Again, Jake nodded. "I've been trying so hard to fit into the gay personality…and I kind of think that's why Spud broke up with me, because we were moving too fast."

'Hmmm…' the man thought to himself.

* * *

In a bedroom covered with pictures of singers and skateboarding heroes, a phone rang. The owner of the room put down her senior math textbook and answered the phone. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Trix, it's Spud," Spud said into the phone. "Look, I gotta talk, like now."

Trixie was still a little disturbed after what happened between her and Jake a little earlier that afternoon. "Yeah—uh, Spud. I bet you do," she said.

"I'm really worried about Jake. I don't know like, how much longer I can go without him talking to me," he confessed.

"Well, I'd give it a few more days," Trixie said quietly not into the phone.

"What was that?" Spud asked from the other end of the line.

"Oh, uh, nothing," Trixie said nervously. "Why are you so concerned with Jake all of a sudden? I thought you weren't comfortable with how fast you two were moving?"

"As his _boyfriend_, yeah I was concerned. But just as his _friend_-friend, I'm more concerned about our friendship," Spud told Trixie. Spud may seem like a dimwit at times, but he had the biggest heart out of the small group. "So, what do you think about me giving Jake a call to try and see how he's doing?"

"Well, actually Spud. There's something you should know about Jake," Trixie admitted. She was getting nervous again. Spud picked up on this right away.

"Trix, you can tell me," Spud said. "What happened?"

Trixie stalled as much as she could. "Well," she began, "he was talking to me earlier like he usually does about why you two broke up, and well, I might have, kind uh, said something that made him a little angry." Trixie cringed in fear of Spud, even though he was in his own house.

"…how angry?" Spud asked fearfully.

"Angry enough to know that he missed the receiver when he slammed the phone down," Trixie said.

Spud was nervous for a change. He knew what Jake could be like when he got angry. He also knew Jake liked to go and think in a few places, but wasn't sure if he'd progressed that far yet.

* * *

Jake and the man had left the park and the stone figures behind and crossed 7th Avenue, walking along Christopher Street. The street was one-way, so cars were parked along both sides of it. There were lots of interesting specialty shops along the narrow street of Greenwich Village. Many of these shops had a colourful flag above their doors.

Jake couldn't help but look into the windows of the strange stores. Things that looked like dog collars were on many of the mannequins' necks. Undergarments with the same colourful design as the flags were on the same mannequins. Jake had never seen some of the leathery items in the store windows, and never would have imagined they were for a person to wear.

The people on the sidewalk were all dressed well, but not in business suits like those of the Financial District. They passed a video store. Jake didn't recognize any of the titles.

"Hey, uhm, Mister, could you tell me where we're going?" Jake asked, nervous about his surroundings.

"I think you need to see someone a little more experienced in this than I am, although I am pretty darn good if I say so myself."

"A little better at _what_?" Jake asked.

"Helping you with your situation," the man replied. "And secondly, don't call me 'Mister.' I'm only what, a year older than you? Name's Ronald…but everyone calls me Ron…Ron Stoppable," Ron said, pointing to himself.

* * *

2 chapters in the same week? I know, I am amazing. Thank you. (Oy.)

So I spent an hour or so coming up with the entire plot line for this story. It's gonna go places even I didn't see it going. Some changes to be aware of:

I officially changed this to a crossover fic between AD:JL and Kim Possible. From now on, you'll have to search for it in the crossover section under the first title of American Dragon.

Secondly, for safety, I changed the rating up to M. And if you noticed, the "Warnings" section got an update. (Think about that…) until next time,

Happy Reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Making it Make Sense

**Disclaimer: **_Kim Possible_ and _American Dragon: Jake Long_ both belong to Disney Animation Studios and Buena Vista Television.

**Warnings:** This story will contain homosexual relationships and adult themes. No described sex.

* * *

**Chapter 5  
Making it Make Sense**

Jake followed Ron Stoppable into a small, dimly lit bar. It looked like any bar he'd ever seen on television—right down to the guys sitting on the bar stools and a few at a pool table. The music was a bit different, more up-beat and techno-like, than he expected to find in an American bar. As he continued scanning the room, he caught the eye of the bartender, a larger man who appeared to be in his fifties. The man looked Jake over, and at Ron. His face began to turn sour.

"Hey! No under-agers! You boys got I.D.?" the bar tender yelled across the small room. There were only a handful of men in the bar at this time, but more were coming in as it got later and later in the afternoon.

Ron turned toward the bartender and smiled. "Sam, it's me. This is—," he hesitated, "Jake, right?"

Jake nodded.

"Jake. We're just here to see Rob. He in his 'office'?" Ron asked, putting emphasis on the word office, cluing Jake into the fact that this Rob probably wasn't the owner of the bar. One of the younger-aged looking men in the bar turned and looked at Jake. He looked to be only a little older than Jake, maybe by three or four years. The young man with the jet-black hair smiled. Jake thought the boy was cute and started to smile back when Sam answered. He didn't even notice his cell phone ringing in his pocket. Or, that is, he noticed it, but didn't care enough to answer it just then.

"Oh, not _another_ one of your projects!" Sam answered in a mild protest. He sighed, "Yeah, Rob's back there. He should be done in a minute."

Ron looked at Jake, and at the boy he was staring at. Knowing who it was, Ron pulled Jake away. "Don't get involved with him, Jake," he whispered into Jake's ear, "Only bad things will happen with _that_ guy."

Jake, both relieved to be saved from a potentially dangerous man, while also upset that he couldn't become involved with someone kind of cute. Ron picked up on that.

"Hmm…maybe you don't need Rob's help. Seems like you're starting to like guys, are we?" Ron asked as the pair walked towards the rear of the bar, leaving the young man, Sam, and the rest of the bar-goers behind. The walked down a surprisingly well-lit hallway where there were restrooms and what was probably a janitor's closet. Ron approached a door at the end and knocked. There came a muffled sound followed by a man saying, "Just a minute," followed by what sounded like the scurrying of papers and probably a chair moving.

A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a man wearing a suit that was in need to ironing, and his tie was loose around his neck. He stepped outside and revealed a second man who was wearing a more comfortable-looking T-Shirt and shorts. "Same time tomorrow Maurice?" the man asked.

"Sure thing, Rob. Next time I'll bring everything, promise!" He blew a kiss towards Rob and went back towards the bar. Ron eyed Rob with one of those 'did-you-really-just-do-that?' looks. Rob smiled with a sheepish grin, not looking guilty at all.

"Hard at work as usual, eh Rob?" Ron asked, walking into the room. A large window in the back let in strips of light between the down blinds. The specks of dust in the light danced about and landed on the desk and chair. There was a computer and a small television on the desk, but there seemed to be an absence of any actual 'work'. A worn-in couch was under the pillow which looked like it was in that room since the bar was built. Rob motioned towards the couch, inviting Ron and Jake to sit.

"So," Rob began, settling down into 'his' desk chair, "Ron, what's up with this one?" he asked, looking directly at Jake.

Jake shrunk back on the couch. 'I already spilled my guts to one complete stranger today,' Jake thought to himself, shying away from Rob, 'do I really have to do it again to someone else?' Ron noticed Jake's uncomfortable looks, so he spoke for Jake.

"Rob, this is Jake. He hasn't thrown his last name yet, so don't bother trying to catch it." Jake chuckled a little. "You see, Jake here has some questions about himself, and I thought of none better than yourself to try and help him out."

Rob seemed amused. "Sure, why not." He got up and squeezed between Jake and Ron. Jake obviously would have preferred to remain next to Ron, but what could he do at that point? "So, Jake, let me guess, you don't know why you're gay, right?"

Jake nodded.

"Aah, right. So, you feel like just asking someone, 'Why me?'"

Again, Jake nodded.

"Well, go ahead, ask." Rob insisted, as if it was the most normal request ever made. Which, when Jake thought about it, it was.

"…So…," Jake began, asking the toughest, most-ordinary question he's asked in a long time, "Why am _I_ gay?"

Rob settled back, put his arm around Jake's shoulders in an older-brother kind of way, and said two words, which Jake didn't take well. "Nobody knows."

Jake was taken back. Hadn't Ron taken him here so he could find out the mysteries of his gayness? To find the source of why he thought the way he did? Wasn't the whole reason why he was here in the first place because he believed in Ron? Oh, how Ron had let him down.

"That's it?" Jake asked, somewhat angrily. "I followed this guy," pointing to Ron, "blindly because I thought he could help me, not because I wanted to have some random guy tell me nobody knows why I'm gay." Jake settled down again and took a breath. "I feel like I should ask for my money back or something." This made both Ron and Rob laugh lightly.

"Well, that's the truth, kid. We're all gay just because we are. Same reason my sister's straight, same reason why my mother can't see out of her left eye, same reason we all have our own special quirks." Jake looked up after Rob's last statement. Then the thought hit him, maybe that really was all there was to it.

"Hey, Jake," Ron said. Jake turned to look at him. "You've trusted me this far, right?"

"Well, yeah, but—" Ron cut him off.

"Well, then why stop now? Rob may not be the greatest Buddah that ever lived, but he knows how to say the most complicated theory in terms a five-year-old could understand. I've been bringing people to see him for months now."

Jake was perplexed. Here sat this man, in the back of a gay bar in Greenwich Village, sitting in his shorts and a T-Shirt, living his days just doling out advice like a fortune cookie. "Rob, can I ask you something?" Jake asked.

"Oh, he has more questions. I like this one, Ron," Rob said. He turned to look at Jake.

"What are you doing here? I mean, what do you do for a living?"

"Well, I do a lot of things. I give out advice to kids like you. I like collecting art. But my main source of income in photography if you want to know the truth. I freelance a lot for small photo shoots, and I sell some of my nicer prints of random things to people with too much money to care about. It doesn't make me a lot, but I get to do what I love, and I have enough to spare to treat myself to something nice every so often, such as renting this luxury apartment in the back of the Boots and Saddle."

Jake picked up the sarcasm in Rob's voice. "Listen, if I can truly give you one piece of advice about your feelings towards gays, it's to not think about it. I know that doesn't make much sense, but remember, I'm the gay guru."

"Oooh-I like that title. You should get that engraved on a plaque or something for your front door," Ron chirped in, making his existence in the room known again.

"Heh, stick with this one Jake, Ron will show you right."

* * *

"I can't believe he's still not answering his phone!" Spud yelled to nobody in particular. 'Sure, Jake, you answer your phone in the middle of Rotwood's classes, but you won't answer a call now?' he thought to himself, very annoyed with his friend/ex-boyfriend.

'So, all I know thus far is that Trixie ticked him off, and now he won't answer his phone. Translation: Jake's gone wild in New York.'

There are a few problem when trying to find Jake in New York City. One, Jake was a dragon, so in addition to the entire complex of Manhattan, there was the magical world he could hide in. However, Spud doubted Jake would be hiding there, as it was dangerous to be there while you're angry…your reasoning gets clouded and you can't think straight he remembered Jake telling him once. The other problem, which definitely added fuel to the problem fire, was the Manhattan was a complicated, sprawling mass of streets, busses, subways, and apartments and other buildings. How anyone found ANYONE in this city still amazed Spud.

'Think Spudinski, think," Spud thought, "where is the ONE place in New York where Jake goes when he needs to think?'

"Central Park!" He cried out.

* * *

A long subway ride later, Spud emerged on Central Park West, one of the streets that bordered Central Park, a sprawling mass of greens and lawns within the sprawling mass of concrete and garbage. Finding someone in this park was almost as hard as searching all of Manhattan—only greener. 'What I wouldn't give for some dragon-power right now!' Spud thought.

He waited.

"Nope, eh, well, worth a shot." He said as he shrugged his shoulders and ran off into the park to try and find Jake.

There were too many places for just one guy to look. Everywhere were massive fields, ponds, and footpaths barely a foot wide. Even running, it would take a few hours to search all the major places, even the spots he knew Jake preferred.

It seemed like hours had passed, which they had, when Spud realized his mistake. Jake had recently spoken about how much he enjoyed Battery Park-something as far from Central Park as you can get without leaving Manhattan.

It would take almost an hour for Spud to get back to a subway station, and ride it to City Hall—a station very close to Battery Park on another subway line. But still, if he was going to find Jake before he did more damage to himself or others, he had no choice.

* * *

"So, that was Rob. Was it worth it in the end to see him?" Ron asked Jake as they were walking back towards 7th Avenue.

"I guess so? I mean I was expecting something a little more obvious or a little deeper, but in the end I think I got his message in the end."

"And what message was that?" Ron asked Jake in a teacher/parent way.

Jake stopped and thought a moment before answering. "That it's just a part of me, and that I have to accept it, just like I have to accept being short."

Ron gave a crooked smile. "Uhm, sure…close enough. Sounds good." Ron looked up after they crossed. "Hey, you know what else sounds good? Let's say you and I go get some dinner. You wanna come to dinner with me?"

Jake didn't answer right away.

* * *

What? I updated? No… Well, that's what a 7-hour train trip will do to a guy. I'm somewhat irritated because I just saved the whole chapter as the template by accident. Oh crud.

Happy reading!


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